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Supreme Court Caseload Hits 160-Year Low
Not since the Civil War has the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in as few cases as it will this term — the latest milestone for the court's shrinking docket, and one attorneys say might have more to do with the high court's culture than its expanding emergency appeals caseload.
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January 30, 2026
Texas Appeals Court Upholds $14M Truck Crash Verdict
A Texas appellate court kept largely intact a $14 million verdict against a cellular phone tower construction company and an employee, saying the company knew the employee had a history of alcoholism before he caused a crash that left a couple with debilitating injuries.
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January 30, 2026
5th Circ. Gives Lumen Investors Another Shot In Lead Suit
The Fifth Circuit determined Friday that a group of shareholders should get another chance to amend their proposed class action accusing Lumen Technologies Inc. of not disclosing potential liabilities related to its lead-wrapped cables, saying the lower court did not sufficiently explain why it would not allow them to amend their suit after dismissing it.
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January 30, 2026
9th Circ. Says DOJ Can Withhold VW Grand Jury Records
The Ninth Circuit on Friday held that the U.S. Department of Justice couldn't be forced to hand over about 6 million Volkswagen documents that were part of a Jones Day investigation into the automaker's 2015 emissions-cheating scandal, as the government obtained them through a grand jury subpoena.
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January 30, 2026
8th Circ. Affirms Toss Of ND Tribal Landowners' Pipeline Suit
The Eighth Circuit Friday refused to revive a group of landowning Three Affiliated Tribes members' lawsuit accusing oil pipeline operator Andeavor of trespassing across their North Dakota reservation lands, with a panel majority concluding that the members had no federal common law trespass claim.
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January 30, 2026
Split 4th Circ. Reverses Va. Man's Revocation Sentence
A split Fourth Circuit panel on Friday ordered resentencing for a convicted drug dealer after a district court judge refused to engage with his arguments for why he should not have his probation revoked from an earlier drug charge.
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January 30, 2026
Planned Parenthood Drops Medicaid Fight After 1st Circ. Loss
Planned Parenthood abandoned a legal challenge to a ban on Medicaid reimbursements for its clinics Friday, following a loss at the First Circuit, which upheld the ban in December.
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January 30, 2026
Mich. Can't Shake Residents' Water Suit Based On Timeliness
A Michigan appellate court has allowed lead contamination claims from Benton Harbor residents to proceed, affirming that state officials did not make clear the level of danger in the city's water system for purposes of starting the clock on the statute of limitations.
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January 30, 2026
Back Pay Over Vax Mandate Is Equitable Relief, Justices Hear
A U.S. Air Force reservist told the U.S. Supreme Court this week that equitable relief under a religious freedom law should extend to his back pay claim related to his refusal to follow its COVID-19 vaccine mandate, arguing he's only seeking "status-restoring relief."
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January 30, 2026
7th Circ. Grills Trump Admin Atty Over Definition Of Illegal DEI
Seventh Circuit judges on Friday pushed an attorney for the Trump administration to define what kind of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives it deems illegal in requiring grant recipients to certify they don't promote DEI programs that violate anti-discrimination law, with one judge saying the unanswered question has caused "frustration" in litigation over the requirement.
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January 30, 2026
The Message From Delaware Courts: Change Is Coming
Delaware's Supreme Court delivered a reminder to the state's corporation law ecosystem recently with a reversal of a Court of Chancery decision invalidating a 7-year-old stockholder agreement that granted broad corporate powers to investment bank Moelis & Co.'s founder.
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January 30, 2026
Okla. Gov. Challenges AG's Tribal Hunting Policy Opinion
Oklahoma's governor and wildlife department have urged the Oklahoma Supreme Court to give them control over hunting and fishing rights on tribal reservation lands so they can issue state-managed permits, arguing that an opinion by the state's attorney general wrongly says federal law prohibits such permitting.
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January 30, 2026
9th Circ. Bars Coast Guard Suit Over Conception Boat Fire
A split panel of the Ninth Circuit Friday affirmed a California federal judge's decision to dismiss wrongful death litigation that the families of 34 people killed by a fire on the dive boat MV Conception had brought against the government.
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January 30, 2026
9th Circ. Allows Nevada Inmate's COVID Yard Restriction Case
A Nevada prison inmate who says he was denied almost all access to the outdoors for over a year during the COVID-19 pandemic in violation of his constitutional rights may continue his case against the warden who he claims kept his protective segregation unit indoors unlawfully, the Ninth Circuit has affirmed.
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January 30, 2026
Thermolife Asks Justices To Resolve Split Over Sanctions
ThermoLife is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to take up its fight against a lower court's decision to sanction the company and its CEO as part of a false advertising case, saying the Federal Circuit wrongly backed the award.
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January 30, 2026
Lindberg Takes $122M Contempt Order To NC Top Court
A convicted billionaire is asking North Carolina's top court to take up his appeal seeking to overturn a $122 million contempt order against him, saying the lower court's finding that he was able to pay ignored the precarious reality of selling off a complex business asset.
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January 30, 2026
Attys Rip Judge-Shopping Sanctions As Bid To 'Rewrite' Rules
Two Alabama attorneys who were sanctioned for allegedly judge shopping in a civil rights case urged the Eleventh Circuit to toss the sanctions Friday, arguing the judges accusing them were seeking to "rewrite" the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
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January 30, 2026
1st Circ. Revives Ex-Hasbro Workers' Religious Vax Bias Suit
Two former Hasbro employees who sought religious exemptions from the company's COVID-19 vaccination policy plausibly alleged they were disciplined because of their accommodation requests, the First Circuit ruled, reviving the workers' retaliation and discrimination suit.
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January 30, 2026
1st Circ. Upholds Atty's 7-Year Sentence In Email Fraud Case
A panel of the First Circuit has affirmed a more than seven-year prison term and $2 million restitution order for an Illinois lawyer convicted of collecting proceeds from a romance and real estate email fraud scheme.
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January 30, 2026
Post-Gazette Says Health Plan Order Contempt Bid Is Moot
The publisher of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says it is complying with a court order to put its newsroom employees back on a union-sponsored healthcare plan, so a request from the National Labor Relations Board to hold it in contempt is moot.
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January 30, 2026
11th Circ. Looks Ready To Revive 3 Atlanta Trafficking Suits
Three women suing Atlanta-area hotels where they claim they were trafficked for sex as minors appeared poised to revive their suits Friday, as an Eleventh Circuit panel was dubious of the hotels' claims that they weren't complicit in the forced prostitution on their premises.
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January 30, 2026
NC Bar Urges Panel To OK Atty Discipline For Account Misuse
The North Carolina State Bar is urging the state's appeals court to uphold the suspension of a Nash County lawyer over the alleged mishandling of his attorney trust account, arguing he admitted to the misconduct and did not show the state's ethics watchdog had abused its discretion.
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January 30, 2026
NJ Panel OKs Bank's COD Denial For Family Dollar Build
A New Jersey appeals panel on Friday found that a bank was within its rights to refuse to fund cash-on-delivery payment for a prefabricated steel structure a developer planned to use on a project to build a Family Dollar store.
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January 30, 2026
1st Circ. Says Worker's Cold Feet Can't Halt Wage Deal
A former Siemens Industry union electrician's change of heart on an $84,0000 settlement to end her suit seeking unpaid wages cannot undo the deal, the First Circuit ruled, calling the former employee a "disgruntled" litigant.
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January 30, 2026
Prosecutors Can't Revive RICO Case Against NJ Power Broker
The New Jersey Appellate Division on Friday rejected a bid from state prosecutors to revive the criminal racketeering case against South Jersey powerbroker George Norcross and several others, finding that the allegations either did not amount to crimes or were brought too late.
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January 29, 2026
Attacks Haven't Killed Judiciary's AI Rule, May Strengthen It
Federal judiciary advisers Thursday confronted the most extensive opposition yet in their campaign to ensure the reliability of evidence utilizing artificial intelligence, but the criticism appeared constructive, possibly upping the odds of a digital age addition to U.S. court rules.
Editor's Picks
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The Topics Appellate Attys Are Tracking Most Closely In 2026
A few far-reaching topics will dominate the appellate practice in 2026, attorneys predict, as appeals courts navigate an ever-growing thicket of Trump administration litigation and thorny questions involving artificial intelligence.
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4 High Court Cases To Watch This Spring
The U.S. Supreme Court justices will return from the winter holidays to tackle several constitutional disputes that range from who is entitled to birthright citizenship to whether transgender individuals are entitled to heightened levels of protection from discrimination.
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Circuit-By-Circuit Guide To 2025's Most Memorable Moments
Federal circuit courts in 2025 strained under a crush of Trump administration lawsuits, as judges directed animated language at litigants and even their fellow judges. And while the president only added a handful of appellate jurists, they had outsize impacts on circuit benches as they joined the cadre of conservatives seated in his first term.
Expert Analysis
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4 Quick Emotional Resets For Lawyers With Conflict Fatigue
Though the emotional wear and tear of legal work can trap attorneys in conflict fatigue — leaving them unable to shake off tense interactions or return to a calm baseline — simple therapeutic techniques for resetting the nervous system can help break the cycle, says Chantel Cohen at CWC Coaching & Therapy.
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2 Rulings Showcase Fuzzy Limits Of 'Related To' Jurisdiction
The Fifth and Ninth Circuits recently handed down decisions, in Sanchez Energy and Sawtelle Partners, respectively, reminding practitioners that bankruptcy court jurisdiction over lingering disputes is not guaranteed, regardless of whether confirmation orders contain specific "retention of jurisdiction" language, says Brian Shaw at Cozen O’Connor.
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3 Key Ohio Financial Services Developments From 2025
Ohio's banking and financial services sector saw particularly notable developments in 2025, including a significant Ohio Supreme Court decision on creditor disclosure duties to guarantors in Huntington National Bank v. Schneider, and some major proposed changes to the state's Homebuyer Plus program, says Alex Durst at Durst Kerridge.
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Patent Eligibility Faces Widening Gap Between USPTO, Courts
The year 2026 opened with a profoundly altered Patent Act Section 101 ecosystem — the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has pushed eligibility as far open as it can for artificial intelligence technologies, but the courts are not on the same page, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Navigating Trade Secret Exceptions In Noncompete Bans
Recent and ongoing developments in the noncompete landscape, including a potential decision from the Tenth Circuit in Edwards Lifesciences v. Thompson, could offer tools for employers to bring noncompete agreements within trade secret exceptions amid an era of heightened employee mobility, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.
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Series
Playing Tennis Makes Me A Better Lawyer
An instinct to turn pain into purpose meant frequent trips to the tennis court, where learning to move ahead one point at a time was a lesson that also applied to the steep learning curve of patent prosecution law, says Daniel Henry at Marshall Gerstein.
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False Ad Suit Shows Need For Clear, Conspicuous Disclosure
The Eleventh Circuit's recent false advertising decision in Federal Trade Commission v. Corpay reiterated the FTC's guidance imploring advertisers to ensure that any disclosures are clear and conspicuous to consumers, providing companies with numerous lessons about truthful advertising and highlighting some common disclosure pitfalls to avoid, says Michael Justus at Carlton Fields.
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Justices' BDO Denial May Allow For Increased Auditor Liability
The Supreme Court's recent denial of certiorari in BDO v. New England Carpenters could lead to more actions filed against accounting firms, as it lets stand a 2024 Second Circuit ruling that provided a road map for pleading falsity with respect to audit certifications, says Dean Conway at Carlton Fields.
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What To Expect From Justices' 401(k) Ruling, DOL Rulemaking
The U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming ruling in Anderson v. Intel, addressing alternative assets in defined contribution plans, coupled with the U.S. Department of Labor's recently proposed regulation on fiduciary duties in selecting alternative investments, could alleviate the litigation risk that has impeded wider consideration of such investments, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: January Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five rulings from October and November, and identifies practice tips from cases involving consumer fraud, oil and gas leases, toxic torts, and wage and hour issues.
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Series
Judges On AI: How Judicial Use Informs Guardrails
U.S. Magistrate Judge Maritza Dominguez Braswell at the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado discusses why having a sense of how generative AI tools behave, where they add value, where they introduce risk and how they are reshaping the practice of law is key for today's judges.
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Evenflo IP Ruling Shows Evidence Is Still Key For Injunctions
Notwithstanding renewed policy and doctrinal attention to patent injunctions, the Federal Circuit's December decision in Wonderland v. Evenflo signals that the era of easily obtained patent injunctions has not yet arrived, say attorneys at King & Wood.
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Justices' Med Mal Ruling May Spur Huge Shift For Litigators
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in the medical malpractice suit Berk v. Choy, holding that a Florida procedural requirement does not apply to medical malpractice claims filed in federal court, is likely to encourage eligible parties to file claims in federal court, speed the adjudicatory process and create both opportunities and challenges for litigators, says Thomas Kroeger at Colson Hicks.
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Challenging Restitution Orders After Supreme Court Decision
The U.S. Supreme Court’s Ellingburg v. U.S. decision from last week, holding that mandatory restitution is a criminal punishment subject to the Sixth Amendment, means that all challenges to restitution are now fair game if the amount is not alleged in the indictment, say Mark Allenbaugh at SentencingStats.com and Doug Passon at Doug Passon Law.
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State Of Insurance: Q4 Notes From Pennsylvania
Last quarter in Pennsylvania, a Superior Court ruling underscored the centrality of careful policy drafting and judicial scrutiny of exclusionary language, and another provided practical guidance on the calculation of attorney fees and interest in bad faith cases, while a proposed bill endeavored to cover insurance gaps for homeowners, says Todd Leon at Marshall Dennehey.